Trade effluent is any liquid waste that is discharged from business premises to public sewers
Trade effluent discharges to sewer are regulated by Irish Water or the EPA. You must have a trade effluent licence or an EPA licence to discharge trade effluent to the sewer. The type and scale of activity will determine the regulatory authority responsible for licensing the trade effluent discharged to the sewer.
A trade effluent licence sets out conditions that businesses must comply with. These may include:
- The nature, composition and volume of the trade effluent discharge
- The method of treatment, the location of discharge and the periods during which discharge may be made
- The taking and analysis of trade effluent samples and the trade effluent records that must be kept
- Applicable charges for discharging trade effluent, as approved by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
Irish Water maintain a database of all trade effluent licences
Note 1.
Irish Water will provide an up to date Register on request, email dischargetosewer@water.ie
Note 2.
A trade effluent discharge to sewer licence is a legal requirement if a business discharges trade effluent to a public sewer. If a business is discharging to surface water infrastructure, they need to contact the relevant Local Authority for a licence.
Note 3.
Unclear what happens with licensing in sewer systems without a treatment plant, eg Arklow, Wicklow